NEC APC available

From: John Foust <jfoust_at_threedee.com>
Date: Fri Oct 13 16:17:13 2000

At 10:07 PM 10/12/00 -0700, Sellam Ismail wrote:
>As much as I hate having seemingly useless crap like this, I still refuse
>to throw it out. It's useful to SOMEONE.

Probably not. I'd collected most of these older PCs from the
trash from a local computer dealer. That doesn't mean they were
broken, it means he didn't want them and the customer didn't
want them.

Some were just fine. Others... sheesh, it just comes down to
time. I'd packratted them for years. To bring any one of them
up to speed (with memory, CD, sound, etc.) involves so much wasted
time mucking around, and then you end up with a slow Win95 box or
yet another box with the world's largest virus, Linux.

If I really need a new firewall or new utility PC, why shouldn't I
spend $400 and get a new whiz-bang disposable eMachine from Best Buy?
What is my frigging time worth? Whoops, I got all excited there,
remembering I was responding to Sellam, and that I had to speak
crudely in order to be understood. I'm self-employed. I put a
price tag on everything, especially time.

I'm not truly reformed, though. I saved a couple known-working
486/66s to revive for my three kids. They're sharing an eMachine
now, but it would be fun to have one in each kid's room. But I'm
sure that ten minutes after installation, I'll be asked by a
five-year-old why he can't get to ToonDisney.com, which requires
a browser with Flash and who knows what else.

>What I'm recommending to people who have older PCs these days is to donate
>them to your local community college electronics or engineering
>departments. I'm sure the students can use them for either spare parts or
>as controllers for whatever projects they're working on.
>Pentiums are still useful to schools and other organizations that take PCs
>and refurbish them to donate to schools.

Two weeks ago, the school superintendent asked me where *he* could
dump old PCs. They've got too many, and their technology director
would never allow such mutts in the classroom. Have you been to a
school or a library lately? The machines are bolted down in hardware
and software to keep you from doing naughty things. Teachers here
aren't even allowed to install any software on their PCs, the techs
must do it for them, all for reasons of support, piracy and viruses.

Similarly, other clients ask me what they can do with their old
(486/xx, P-133, etc.) computers. They have barely enough RAM for
Win95, hard disks that seem puny by today's standards, no software
transferred legally, etc.

Sure, think it's generous to give it away, or send it to Goodwill...
but what is someone getting? They're getting something that they
can't use to run Office so they can better themselves at their job,
and it's not big enough or fast enough to get on the net, and it's
going to require someone with arcane knowledge to fix it or upgrade
it. What you've given them is clearly inferior. If they don't
recognize that right away, they'll learn it soon enough. You're
giving them a headache and an obligation to waste time trying to
squeeze oomph out of a computer that doesn't have it to begin with.

- John
Received on Fri Oct 13 2000 - 16:17:13 BST